Amid developments in the Syrian city of Aleppo, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has moved to reassure Sunni Muslims that the Islamic Republic is not seeking to form a so-called “Shiite crescent” in the Middle East. In a speech Dec. 15 before the 30th International Islamic Unity Conference in Tehran, Rouhani said, “Both Shiite crescent and Sunni axis are wrong. Shiites and Sunnis are brothers and followers of Islam and the manner of the great Prophet [Muhammad].”

“Fallujah, Aleppo, and all of Iraq and Syria will be liberated from the hands of terrorists in the near future,” Rouhani said. “If the world powers and some dictator and dependent states in the region assume that they can secure their interests and domination in the region via terrorist groups, then they are making a big mistake.”

The Iranian president continued, “Shiites and Sunnis, different sects and ethnicities have lived alongside each other for centuries. We all lived alongside each other, we respected one another, we didn’t insult the sanctities of sects, and all Muslims respected the companions and household of the prophet.”

Rouhani said, “It is not Shiites and Sunnis who have stood up against one another. The late imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] said that it is ‘American Islam’ that has stood up to the pure Muhammadan Islam.”